FORT WORTH, Texas – Eduardo Aparecido came into the twelfth event of the season ranked No. 37 as he was very much flirting with the premier series cut line.

But when the veteran prepares to enter Gainbridge Fieldhouse this weekend during the Ariat PBR Indianapolis, presented by Cooper Tires, the 34-year-old will have a bit more wiggle room after capturing his first event title of the 2025 campaign in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

RELATED: Facing the cutline in Salt Lake City, Aparecido’s veteran poise earns him critical win

Not to dwell on the old hat’s unfortunate slump throughout the past two months, with his last Top 10 finish coming in early December. But a 4-for-15 slate over said 60ish days speaks volumes for a man who ended his 2024 campaign ranked No. 3 in UTB competition. 

And when you consider his tenth-place result in Ontario, California, back on Nov. 23 represented the most recent contest in which he’d secured two qualified rides, it’s easy to see why the Brazilian was due for a BIG weekend in a BIG way. 

Saving the best for last, quite literally, Aparecido teamed up with the very bull his son continued to encourage him to select in Ricky Vaughn for a title-clinching 90.25 points during the event’s final out. 

Using a healthy pair of conversions aboard Off The Tracks (87 points) and Buckaroo (86.5 points) to earn himself the first pick of the championship round, the first of which was logged as he teamed up with Luciano De Castro to lead his Arizona Ridge Riders past the Oklahoma Wildcatters during the most recent iteration of Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, action, it seemed destiny played its part in allowing the two stars to link up. 

Marking his first conversion scored above the rank threshold of 90 points since a PBR Camping World Team Series dance this past summer, his productive performance marked his first 90 of the UTB season as he kicked his year into gear as the tour surpassed its halfway point inside Delta Center. 

RELATED: #InCaseYouMissedIt: Aparecido escapes the cutline with huge win in Salt Lake City

One of just two men to go 3-for-3 alongside fellow veteran Sage Steele Kimzey on a weekend where the tour’s prized bovines surrendered just 31 combined conversions, Aparecido is now 11-for-24 on the season as he skyrocketed to the No. 18 spot.
 
For a man nicknamed “Fast Eddy,” he may have needed a bit of a runway to get his 2025 season in a proper flight path. But he’s since landed, now grounded in his mid-season success and ready to make a push for the Top 10, as he trails No. 10 Sandro Batista by a mere 47.33 points.  

Collecting a whopping $44,788 for his win, flanked by a welcome 127 UTB points, he’s bringing plenty of momentum into this weekend’s Midwestern meet-up. 

Whether he’ll be able to build on his best effort of the year remains to be seen.

With 12 events in the books, we’re officially past the halfway point of the 2025 season, with just a mere 11 showdowns separating the premier series pack from the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.

Naturally, PBR.com is back with another edition of By the Numbers as we take a closer look at Eduardo Aparecido’s big win out west, Sage Kimzey’s eye-popping 91-pointer and tons of other outlying numerals from last weekend’s showcase in Salt Lake City, Utah! 

91 Points: Ripping off the sixth-highest score of the season while stealing the show on the weekend, Sage Steele Kimzey decided it was time for business when he opted into a date with Playmate during Saturday’s championship round. The bull, himself, is enjoying a bit of a rookie lap since beginning his professional efforts during the 2024 5-on-5 series. But the cowboy? He’s been around for a while, reminding everyone exactly why he’s collected seven PRCA buckles to date. 

Adding an epic 91-pointer to his resume, which was good enough to earn him his second short go of the year and third round overall, Kimzey’s saucy dance pushed him to the top of the big board at the time as he was positioned to win his first event of the season during the veteran-dominated campaign. However it was the only other man to stay perfect on the weekend who eventually edged him out, forcing Kimzey to settle for a season-best second-place finish, tying his runner-up effort in Wichita, Kansas. Also joining Aparecido as the only other cowboy to produce a 90 in Salt Lake City, the mark was merely Sage’s second-best score of the season, with a 91.75-pointer back in Wichita continuing to represent his top mark of the campaign. Having ridden at least one bull in 10 of the 11 events he’s participated in, the No. 2 finish marked the veteran’s fifth Top 10 effort on the year. Earning $26,012 and a solid 100 UTB points for the big finish, he’s ranked No. 6 ahead of Week 12. 

Second Round, Third Place: When the best bulls in the world show up and show out, it’s going to be hard for the pack to collectively get their jobs done. And while overall numbers were down inside Delta Center, the top portion of the leaderboard was full of quality efforts, including Dener Barbosa, who edged out the other four men who turned in 2-for-3 slates to earn a third-place finish in Salt Lake City. Tying Dalton Kasel for Saturday night’s Round 2 honors courtesy of his 8-second dance with Oyster Creek Brawler, it was ultimately his conversion aboard King Tut which earned him his spot on the podium.

Scored a healthy 89.75 points for his successful journey, the spectacle marked his second-best score of the season while vaulting him to his best finish of 2025 and first Top 5 result since managing a fifth-place effort back in St. Louis, Missouri. Now his fourth Top 10 of the season and sixth Top 15 effort, he’s had some impressively consistent streaks throughout the year, including his three-straight Top 6 finishes in December. Knocking down at least one bull in nine of his 12 appearances, he’s up to the No. 17 spot, just one ahead of Aparecido, as he continues to piece together some encouraging performances just one year after finishing the 2024 campaign with an uncharacteristic No. 30 rank. 

Round Win No. 6: As the first man left off the podium Saturday night, Dalton Kasel picked up his tour-leading sixth round win of the season courtesy of his Round 2 tie with the aforementioned Barbosa. Now two round wins ahead of No. 2 John Crimber, who’s earned four session victories so far in 2025, “Mr. 90 Pointer” has been firing on all cylinders lately. The 26-year-old’s 87.25-pointer atop Mr. Wilson improved him to 2-for-2 on the weekend after originally besting Benjamin Ranklin during Friday night’s opening go. And anytime the Muleshoe, Texas, native is flashing that smile – riders throughout the chutes know he’s feeling himself. 

Unable to stay perfect in the short go, tossed to the dirt by Gene’s Best in a close 6.36 seconds, Kasel settled for a fourth-place finish to Barbosa’s third, flanking the Brazilian by 3.75 points in the overall aggregate. Earning a welcome 53 UTB points for the favorable placement, his fourth-place finish represents his fourth Top 4 of the season while doubling down as his eighth Top 14 result of the year. And while we’re flirting with fours, Kasel remains locked into the No. 4 rank ahead of this weekend’s showdown in Indianapolis, Indiana, just a mere 31.33 points back of the tour’s No. 3-ranked rider, who enjoyed a flashy Friday night with Arizona to stir up another encouraging outcome. 

172.25-85.25: As the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, continues to bring some extra electricity to arenas around the country, fans inside Delta Center watched on as the Arizona Ridge Riders improved to a perfect 2-0 during their head-to-head series with their rival Oklahoma Wildcatters. Seeing just three combined conversions for the second-straight weekend isn’t the sexiest of marketing materials, per se. But anytime the 6 vs. 6 scoreboard includes a one-ride score deficit, we know drama will follow. And when you’re the first of 10 teams to knock off a rival twice, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate! Especially when a pair of your veterans brought their A-game, exactly the case when Eduardo Aparecido and Luciano De Castro showed up Friday night. 

While it was the eventual event champion in Aparecido who set the bar with a dazzling 87-point dance with Off The Tracks, it was Castro’s 85.25-pointer aboard Karizma which gave Arizona some breathing room later in the showdown. And when we consider just how hot Castro has been here this season, his flash may have been the bigger takeaway despite Aparecido using the conversion to propel himself to his first win of the season. Defending his No. 3 rank as he continues to pace the pack via his 21-for-31 slate, this is the Luciano De Castro of old days. Except he’s here in 2025 and ready to hunt down what would be his first gold buckle.

RELATED: Surging Castro helps Arizona Ridge Riders to second METC win over Oklahoma Wildcatters

Exiting the showcase courtesy of a 172.25-85.25 final, Head Coach Colby Yates has to be feeling good about his black and white unit after seeing the squad miss the postseason in 2024 courtesy of an unideal 11-17 record (which tied the expansion unit New York Mavericks during the team’s first trip around the 5-on-5 circuit). Having finished just half a game behind the Wildcatters (who managed an 11-16-1 slate during their first season), Yates and company couldn’t have dreamed up a better start to their Monster Energy Team Challenge fun and will look to close out a perfect 3-0 series March 21 in Palm Springs, California. Meanwhile for Oklahoma, their young stud in Cort McFadden was the lone man to convert Friday, scored 85.25 points for his successful stint atop Taylor’s Cowtown Throwdown. Remaining nestled into the No. 7 spot, McFadden is now 17-for-31 as he continues to operate as the franchise’s brightest star. 

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media